Binaural recording is a method of recording sound that uses two microphones in a spaced arrangement with the intent to create a 3-D stereo sound sensation for a listener that approximates the experience of actually being in the room with the performers or instruments during the recording. This effect is often created using a technique known as “dummy head recording,” where a mannequin head is outfitted with a microphone in or near each ear and placed in the room with the performers or instruments during the recording.
Traditional computing devices having a singular microphone or dual microphones for stereo recording cannot achieve the 3-D stereo sound sensation of binaural recording due to typical relative locations of the microphone(s) within a traditional computing device, lack of a processing system capable of conditioning recorded stereo audio into a binaural audio stream, and limitations of traditional computing device layouts. However, a computing device with a capability to create a binaural recording could be useful to capture recordings of live orchestral or other performances, as well as ambient recordings of city or natural environments.